The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
When director Steven Spielberg gets together with producer Peter Jackson on a cinematic take based on the much-loved Tintin series of books, one can count on stratospheric expectations. A cast that is led by Jamie Bell and Andy Serkis, with the likes of Daniel Craig and Simon Pegg supporting, only adds to the luster. Motion capture, 3D technology and the latest refinements of CGI are all brought to bear. Early reviews have been favorable, and despite the intricate plot (story elements have been taken from two other Tintin books in addition to the book that shares the film’s title) and some incredible feats of technical wizardry, adapting a book with such a devoted fan base is always a risky enterprise. There has been quite a bit of negative comment to balance out the general enthusiasm. What cannot be denied is that The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn is cinematic entertainment of the first order.
Moneyball
Big names headline a baseball movie that has many American critics raving, though elsewhere they have been inclined to shrug their shoulders. It all depends on how you feel about baseball and the arcane art of player selection. Moneyball has ambitions to be the new The Social Network, and features screenplay credits by Aaron Sorkin, a much-lauded leading performance by Brad Pitt, and some excellent fish-out-water comedy by Jonah Hill (Superbad, Get Him to the Greek). There is a bunch of stuff about some clever software kit used by Pitt’s character Billy Beane, an actual person who used it to bring together a potentially winning baseball team on a tight budget. Metrics software is not Facebook, but for anyone with a love of baseball, Moneyball looks like a sure-fire hit.
Immortals
Early sneak peeks suggest that Immortals is the film that Clash of the Titans aspired to be. It sees a return to something like form by Mickey Rourke as the villain of the story, a wonderfully ripped Henry Cavill (The Tudors, Red Riding Hood) as the hero Theseus, and a gravelly narration by John Hurt. Tarsem Singh, a young director whose 2007 film The Fall earned a seldom-given four stars from critic Roger Ebert, shows a remarkable visual flair and ability to handle out-sized fantasy themes. The feel of the film shares some similarities with 300, though it is visually even more intricate. If you like your men oiled and in leather and/or your women buxom and sultry, this film will have you in ecstasies.
Attenberg
Like the deeply weird Dogtooth by Greek director Giorgos Lanthimos, which showed here in April, Attenberg by compatriot Athina Rachel Tsangari looks set to polarize opinion, delighting hardened cinephiles with its bold indifference to the rules of linear narrative and accepted film language, and causing frustration among wider audiences annoyed with its relentless impenetrability. The main character Marina’s (Ariane Labed) interpretation of the world around her is mediated through her obsessive interest in the work of wildlife documentary-maker David Attenborough (his mispronounced name gives the film its title). Her friendship with a more worldly Bella (Evangelia Randou), who plays up to Marina’s peculiarities, forms the main substance of the film. There is some fine acting, and Labed picked up Best Actress honors at Venice last year for this picture.
The Big Picture (L’homme qui voulait vivre sa vie)
A workman-like thriller in the mold of Guillaume Canet’s Tell No One. Based on a novel by best-selling author Douglas Kennedy, The Big Picture is one of those films that gradually and meticulously builds up situations from quite conventional ingredients, but does so in such a way that normal life gets pulled apart. The story sees its hero Paul (Romain Duris) discover his wife in infidelity, face up to his own ambitions and regrets, find a new identity, see the way to redemption, and discover that success has a sting in its tail. Strong performances, including a lovely and underused Catherine Deneuve, this is a well-crafted and intelligent film likely to appeal to anyone who likes a good thriller in which emotions rather than buildings and cars explode.
Death and Glory in Changde (喋血孤城)
From Shen Dong (沈東), the director who gave us the jingoistic tosh Taihang Shan Shang (太行山上), Death and Glory in Changde lives up to its title as a simplistic war film in which heroic Chinese make a last stand against a vastly superior force of Japanese troops who stop at nothing to take the strategically important city. There are plenty of stereotypes on hand, from the iron-jawed Chinese commanding officer played by Hong Kong veteran Ray Lui (呂良偉), the gentle nurse (Ady An, 安以軒) who works tirelessly to help the wounded (looking lovely all the while) and a host of vicious Japanese officers and soldiers. It’s all pretty predictable, but there are some fine set piece battle sequences and good production values, and it is probably no worse than a host of old-fashioned war movies where the plucky Allies got the better of the nefarious Bosch.
Eternal First Love
Laughter, tears, a return from the dead, dual identities, music and pasta all come together in this light romantic melodrama about foodies Takeshi (Takashi Tsukamoto), an Italian restaurant chef, and Ruri (Saki Aibu). Just at the moment when Takeshi wants to express romantic feelings, he is crushed to death by a suicidal musician. Takeshi dies, but his personality becomes embedded in the musician’s body. Absurd plot, attractive cast, and generally inoffensive.
Love Come (Rabukome)
Japanese TV stars take to the big screen in a light-hearted romantic romp. Makie Matsuda meets Miharu, a geeky old acquaintance who works as an anime screenwriter. Miharu tries to declare his feelings on the same day Makie gets back together with her ex-boyfriend. Nishijima, an anime voice artist, falls for Ryoko, who works in Makie’s flower shop and moonlights as a hostess. Various situations ensue. Does not present a particularly riveting option in a week with so many big movies opening.
Sankaku
Yet another Japanese soap on the big screen, this time dealing with a love triangle. Momose is a bit of a slacker, and his relationship with Kayo isn’t going anywhere. When Kayo’s young sister Momo comes to stay, family life livens up, then takes a turn south when a romantic relationship between Momose and Momo develops. A romantic comedy that takes its characters seriously to build up a not unappealing picture of life among young Japanese urbanites.
May 6 to May 12 Those who follow the Chinese-language news may have noticed the usage of the term zhuge (豬哥, literally ‘pig brother,’ a male pig raised for breeding purposes) in reports concerning the ongoing #Metoo scandal in the entertainment industry. The term’s modern connotations can range from womanizer or lecher to sexual predator, but it once referred to an important rural trade. Until the 1970s, it was a common sight to see a breeder herding a single “zhuge” down a rustic path with a bamboo whip, often traveling large distances over rugged terrain to service local families. Not only
Ahead of incoming president William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on May 20 there appear to be signs that he is signaling to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and that the Chinese side is also signaling to the Taiwan side. This raises a lot of questions, including what is the CCP up to, who are they signaling to, what are they signaling, how with the various actors in Taiwan respond and where this could ultimately go. In the last column, published on May 2, we examined the curious case of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) heavyweight Tseng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) — currently vice premier
The last time Mrs Hsieh came to Cihu Park in Taoyuan was almost 50 years ago, on a school trip to the grave of Taiwan’s recently deceased dictator. Busloads of children were brought in to pay their respects to Chiang Kai-shek (蔣中正), known as Generalissimo, who had died at 87, after decades ruling Taiwan under brutal martial law. “There were a lot of buses, and there was a long queue,” Hsieh recalled. “It was a school rule. We had to bow, and then we went home.” Chiang’s body is still there, under guard in a mausoleum at the end of a path
Last week the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) released a set of very strange numbers on Taiwan’s wealth distribution. Duly quoted in the Taipei Times, the report said that “The Gini coefficient for Taiwanese households… was 0.606 at the end of 2021, lower than Australia’s 0.611, the UK’s 0.620, Japan’s 0.678, France’s 0.676 and Germany’s 0.727, the agency said in a report.” The Gini coefficient is a measure of relative inequality, usually of wealth or income, though it can be used to evaluate other forms of inequality. However, for most nations it is a number from .25 to .50